September 2-September 15, 2015
—
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 31B
$350,000 and under housing
market price points.
The market is expected to get
tighter over the next 18 months
because of the extended time
frames (nine to 15 months)
for entitlement approvals and
development, and limited
development funding through
traditional lenders. Finished
residential lots of approximately
6,000 square feet sell for
between $60,000 and $85,000
in the East Woodmen Road
and North Powers Boulevard
area. By comparison, a 6,000-sf
lot sells for between $45,000
and $55,000 in the market area
south of the airport.
Out-of-town investors and
land developers showed more
interest in Colorado Springs
over the past six months
because the Denver metro
area is saturated with investors.
A lack of financially feasible
investment options in markets
like Denver and Northern
Colorado increases activity
in nearly all areas of El Paso
County’s land markets. This
also results in price increases
in residential and retail land.
Development costs, vertical
construction costs and labor
costs are leveling off after
substantial increases of 20
percent or more during the
past 12 months, which helped
increase land prices. Many
developers and investors
are focusing on longer-term
land positions as confidence
continues to grow with the
stability of the Colorado Springs
market.
Construction defect
liability lawsuits on for-sale
multifamily housing is the
primary deterrent for many
builders offering this type of
product anywhere in Colorado.
However, builders are looking
closely at paired single-family
housing because of the need
to deliver more affordable
housing and the limited
options available in the single-
family housing market. There
is pressure mounting in the
Denver and Northern Colorado
markets for more affordable
housing and I believe a change
to the state law would provide
the necessary modifications
to relieve this pressure. It is
possible that the law could be
changed next year, which would
quickly expand this category.
Two bright spots in the
commercial land market
are the expansion and
development of new retail
shopping centers, and the sale
of land to developers and users
for medical services. The latter
is expected to increase in the
near future because of the
current changes in how medical
office property will be acquired
and managed. With continued
improvement and confidence
in a steady economy, many
retailers are expanding
and opening new locations
in Colorado Springs. The
addition of new, well-planned
and well-located shopping
centers assisted moving this
market segment forward.
University Village, First and
Main, Interquest Marketplace,
Briargate Crossings and
Polaris Pointe at Northgate
are examples of the retail
trend. These shopping centers
have attracted new retailers
to the market with numerous
freestanding buildings at each
location with per-sf land prices
approaching levels last seen
between 2003 and 2007. Retail
pad sites at A locations are
priced at $15 to $23 per sf.
Industrial and office land
continues to lag behind historic
levels and both categories
are expected to do so for the
foreseeable future. End users
are the primary purchasers, and
pricing for industrial and office
land is expected to recover
slowly.
appointment of the arbitrator.
At the hearing the parties will
consider efficiency and fairness
in determining arbitration
procedures. Parties can no
longer pick the lazy route,
simply adopting familiar court
rules and procedures, if doing
so will add cost or time to the
proceeding. The arbitrator
must issue a written order
memorializing decisions or
agreements made during the
preliminary hearing, so pay
attention – this is an important
hearing!
n
Information exchange.
Proportionality. In a word, the
new R-24 gives the arbitrator
greater control over the
prehearing exchange of
information to achieve a fair
and economical resolution with
burdens of production and
hearing that are proportional
to the needs of the case and
positions of the parties. The
arbitrator balances the costs
and burdens of responding
to requests for information
with each party's right to
develop and present its case.
The arbitrator may require
production of electronically
stored information in the
manner most convenient and
economical for the producing
party, and may impose search
criteria or parameters setting
the boundaries for searches of
electronically stored documents
or information. (R-24[b][iv])
If you are the party requesting
information, be prepared to
articulate a “good cause” for
why you need documents in
different format than what
the producing party deems
convenient. Clearly make your
case for production in a format
that included metadata like the
“to,” “from” and “date” fields in
emails or “modified date” fields
in drawings, reports, schedules
or other files. Be aware of the
kinds of information that you
might need for your case, and
inquire into how documentation
was kept so that you can
address these issues in the
preliminary hearing. Failing
to do so may leave you unable
to get information (or get it in
a workable format) when you
need it later.
n
Emergency measures.
Parties may request emergency
relief and expedited hearing,
and under R-39 an arbitrator
will be appointed in 24 hours
to address the issues promptly.
This rule applies to arbitration
clauses or agreements entered
into after July 1, 2015. Parties
must give notice by fax or
email and certify that all other
parties have been notified or an
explanation of the steps taken
in good faith to notify other
parties.
Note, even if a party chooses
to initiate a court proceeding for
emergency relief, doing so does
not waive its right to arbitrate.
Instead the party may request
the court to appoint a special
master who will abide R-39 and
issue a report to the court.
n
Power to enforce
compliance with the rules or
the arbitrator’s orders.
The
arbitrator now has specific
enforcement authority and
power to issue orders necessary
to enforce compliance with the
rules and the arbitrator's own
orders. R-25. The arbitrator may
place restrictions on the scope
of discovery, issue protective
orders, and sanction parties
for non-compliance. Available
sanctions for noncompliance
include a host or remedies
such as payment of fees and
costs, limitations on evidence,
and other procedural sanctions
(but not default, which is
the only expressly prohibited
sanction.) Any sanction that
limits a party’s participation
in the arbitration or results
in an adverse determination
or an issue or issues must be
explained in writing, and must
provide for a response and an
evidentiary hearing with oral
argument before making a final
determination or an award.
Note, Rule 25(e) allows the
arbitrator to issue “any other
enforcement orders which the
arbitrator is empowered to issue
under applicable law.” One
should review the applicable law
regarding arbitrator powers in
the controlling law jurisdiction
when initially drafting
construction contracts and also
before seeking a sanctions order
from an arbitrator.
n
Dispositive motions.
Parties
can expect arbitrators to be
more receptive to dispositive
motions (e.g., motions for
summary judgment) if those
motions will narrow or resolve
the case. Motions should be
clean and tight and should only
be filed where appropriate.
The newly enhanced sanctions
powers under R-60 allow the
arbitrator to sanction a party
for filing a motion that had no
reasonable chance of success as
this expands the cost, scope and
time of the proceedings.
n
Other noteworthy changes.
(see adr.org for more details)
• Rule 19, failure to disclose
conflict waives right to disqualify
arbitrator later.
• Rule 36 allows an arbitrator
to disregard written witness
statements or expert reports
if the witness or expert fails to
appear for examination at the
hearing.
• F-1 raises fast track
applicability limit to $100,000
and documents only hearing to
$25,000.
• L-4 and L-5 have been
combined.
